


one call away

by jetplane



Series: Whumptober 2020 [7]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Addiction, Drug Addiction, Gen, Past Drug Use, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:29:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26888905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetplane/pseuds/jetplane
Summary: When Reid discovers a long-forgotten stash of Dilaudid in his kitchen, he calls JJ to help him get rid of it.prompt: I've got you (day 7)
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau & Spencer Reid
Series: Whumptober 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946050
Comments: 8
Kudos: 122
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	one call away

**Author's Note:**

> see endnote for content warnings

Being the BAU liaison, JJ was far more used to being the instigator of late-night phone calls than the recipient of them. But when her cell phone rang at just after two in the morning, she knew exactly how her teammates felt when they heard her voice. “Someone had better be dead,” she warns as she picks up the phone. 

Silence. “Hello?” JJ asks. She hears a breath and what sounds like a sniffle. In the background is the faint sound of cars driving past. “Hello?” she repeats. “Who’s there?”

“JJ…” The voice is barely above a whisper, but she’d know it anywhere. 

“Spence? Are you okay?”

Another sniffle. 

“Spencer, what’s going on? Is something wrong?” she asks, starting to grow worried. 

“I - uh - can you come get me?”

JJ is already getting dressed. “Where are you?” 

He tells her. The address isn’t far from his house, but she doesn’t ask why he needs to be picked up. As JJ puts on her shoes, she sees Will raise his head sleepily. “What’s going on?” he mutters.

“Spence called,” she says. 

He immediately sits up. “Is everything alright?”

JJ shakes her head. “I’m not sure.”

“Do you need me to come with you?” 

She hesitates, then shakes her head again. “I’ll call as soon as I know something.”

Will is already closing his eyes. “Love you,” he mutters. 

“Love you, too,” she replies. The blonde turns off her bedside lamp and slips out the door. 

-

JJ puts her cell phone on speaker as she starts the car. “Spence, are you still there?”

He hesitates for a moment. “Yeah.” Her friend’s voice sounds oddly heavy. 

“Can you tell me what’s going on?” When he doesn’t respond, she tries not to get too concerned. “Reid, I need to know if you’re hurt.”

That he manages. “No. I mean, uh, I don’t think so,” he stammers. 

JJ sighs and shakes her head. Reid was notoriously bad at recognizing his limits. For all she knew, he could have been hit by a car or bleeding out from a stab wound. “Are you safe right now?”

“Yeah. I’m - I’m safe right now. I’m on a payphone, I just can’t go - go back to my apartment. I don’t - I don’t want to…”

“Okay,” JJ assures him. “It’s okay. I’m on my way.”

-

She follows Spencer’s directions and finds him standing under a lamppost next to a payphone. JJ stops her car on the curb beside him and rolls down the window. “Hey, Spence,” she calls, motioning for him to get in the car.

He climbs into the passenger seat and JJ examines him in the light of the car. Reid is wearing his pajamas and slippers, and his eyes are red like he’s been crying. Little marks, which JJ realizes are from his own fingernails, pepper the backs of his hands. “Thank you for coming,” he whispers. 

“Of course. Are you okay?” JJ asks. Reid looks at the floor. She tries another approach. “What do you need?” 

His request confuses her. “Can you take me back to my apartment?”

“Sure,” JJ replies, not questioning her friend’s decision. 

It takes them less than a minute to make it back to Reid’s apartment. She parks in front of the building and they walk to his front door together. When they arrive, Spencer gives her a shamefaced look. “I don’t have my key,” he admits. 

JJ smiles reassuringly and puts her arm around Reid’s shoulder. “No problem,” she says. The blonde fumbles through her key ring with her free ring and locates the copy of Spencer’s. 

“Thanks,” Reid replies awkwardly as she uses the spare to unlock his door. He follows her inside without a word, not missing the wary look on his friend’s face as she scans the inside of his apartment. Nothing is out of place, as far as she can tell. 

“Spence, do you want to talk about what’s going on?” JJ knows this has to be about more than just a simple lock-out. Garcia and Rossi both live closer to his house than JJ does, and they each have a spare key. Besides, Reid is meticulous with his belongings. He would never walk out of his house without his keys and phone at the very least. 

Reid shakes his head. “Just - just check the kitchen,” he mutters. His eyes are closed again and his hands have started shaking. 

She frowns but does as she’s told, passing through the living room and entering Spencer’s small kitchen. One of the top cabinet doors is open, just out of her reach. JJ climbs up onto a chair and peers inside. Her heart stops as she sees the outline of a vial in the dark. 

It’s hard to balance on shaking legs as she reaches into the cabinet. Her fingers wrap around one cold glass vial. Behind it is an unopened package of syringes and another, similar bottle. JJ pulls them both out and examines them in the light, letting herself breathe a sigh of relief when she sees that both are still sealed. She knows without asking what’s inside. 

Spencer is still in the entryway when JJ returns, wringing her hands as she pauses a few feet away from him. “Spence?” she asks. “You know I don’t want to ask this, but...I need to know if you’ve taken anything.”

He immediately shakes his head. “No, I didn’t. They’re - everything’s unopened,” he stammers. “I didn’t-” His face crumples and a sob escapes his lips. “I didn’t,” he insists. 

JJ reaches out and touches his face, then wraps her arms around his neck. “I know,” she whispers as his head falls onto her shoulder. “I know, and I’m so proud of you. It’s going to be okay.” They continue to hold each other, JJ murmuring words of support until Reid pulls away. 

“I wasn’t - I wasn’t planning on doing anything,” he says. JJ nods encouragingly. “I just was looking for - Garcia gave me one of her fancy baking trays and I couldn’t find it, but then I looked and…” Spencer hangs his head. “I thought I’d gotten rid of all of it but…when I saw it, I - I got scared.” 

“That’s why you called me,” she says gently. Spencer nods. 

“I’m sorry for bothering you this late,” he mutters. “I know it’s silly - I should have just thrown them away but-”

“No,” JJ interrupts, holding up a hand. “Spence, stop. You did the right thing. I’m glad you called.” She squeezes his arm. “And you know I’m always here for you, right? I’ve got you.”

Reid wipes away a tear. “But-”

“No buts,” she replies, and her friend’s sad eyes send her reaching out for another hug. “I’ve always got you, you hear me?” 

“I know,” he whispers. She lets go of him. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I’m going to get rid of these, okay?” JJ pulls the glass vials out of her pocket and holds them up. “And then I’m going to come back and we’ll do something to take your mind off things. Whatever you want.”

Reid hesitates, a small smile forming on his lips. “Whatever I want?”

“Anything but Star Wars,” she tells him. “Literally anything but Star Wars.”

He winks at her. “Got it.”

**Author's Note:**

> content warning: mentions of drugs and allusion to past drug use, cursory mention of self-harm


End file.
